Outta your league
by Chubbidust
Summary: Archie is a new inkling in Inkopolis, but soon finds out he has a crush on a Level 50, let alone one of the top rankers! With the help of his friend, will he be able to win the Level 50's heart? Or will he become a heartbroken scrub?
1. Off to Inkopolis!

**A/N: Updates will not be regular, enjoy!**

A calm morning it was, the birds chirping and the flowers blooming in the sunlight. Animals thrived and creatures socialized. Grass blades blew in the gentle breeze, some little insects snacking on them. It was a peaceful morning, everything was great and tranquil.

"ARCHIE! Wake up! It's time for breakfast and it's your big day!" A loud voice called from downstairs in the household, presumably a person named "Archie"'s mother. The amazing aroma of pancakes could be smelled from everywhere in the household, including one little inkling boy's room…

In the room was a typical inkling's bedroom: squid sister posters hanging on the walls, comic books, video games, etcetera etcetera. It was a messy room, clothes littering the floor and the occasional ink blotch stuck in the carpet, but that's what made the room have personality. In the corner of the space there was a bed, with a lump under the sheets.

The lump in question was an inkling, the boy named Archie. He was previously sleeping in his warm cocoon of a blanket, but hearing his mother's yell made the child stirr. Archie snorted awake, slowly opening his eyes and shaking his head to rid himself of the sleepiness. He gave a loud yawn, fully exposing his three fangs and their sharpness. Pushing the blanket off of him, the young inkling smacked his lips quietly, swung his legs over the side of the bed and then stood up-

-Only to fall flat on his face. Muttering a quiet "ow…" the young teen lifted his face off the floor, briefly shaking his head yet again to rid himself of the pain. He placed his hands along the hardwood ground and pushed himself back up onto his feet.

Wait...hands?

Looking down at what used to be his little nubs, Archie saw two light brown-skinned hands in their place. He grinned widely, experimentally bending each finger individually and then all of them together. Archie giggled to himself, looking down at his body and seeing all the wonderful changes. He then looked up towards a mirror in another corner of the room, large enough to see your entire body in it.

With caution, the inkling boy slowly stepped over to the mirror, the wood underneath his feet creaking with almost every other step. He almost fell a couple of times, as he still had to get used to walking in this new stage the body of his was in. Stopping in front of the mirror, Archie stared in awe at his new appearance.

In the mirror was a short inkling boy. The child had formed light brown skin, shining a nice bronze in the sunlight that came beaming from the window. A large oversized shirt acted as pajamas for him, having the words "Stay Fresh!" printed on the front and back.

He blinked, seeing how nice and rich of a purple his eyes were, looking glossy and fantastic in the light. His pink tentacles hung down by the sides of his head, as short as every other normal inkling boy's tentacles were, save for that weird extra tentacle that sprouted towards the front of his head, in his honest opinion it made him look even better. He twisted his body a little in order to get a short view of his backside, wishing to see every detail his body had made for him. A smirk spread across Archie's face, marveling at how fresh he looked.

Archie looked around, briefly patting his body in search of something before spotting his wanted item on a nearby desk where his laptop was, his phone. Quickly picking it up, he turned on the isquid and snapped a selfie with a large smile, wanting to show the internet his new body. Typing a quick flirty caption on a popular social media site, he hit 'post' and eagerly waited for the likes and comments to show up.

Almost instantly he got four comments, all from a user named "SparkleButt". Archie sighed, knowing exactly who it was. He scrolled through the comments, the scowl on his face growing more and more displeased as he read each comment, before he rolled his eyes at the last one.

" _dude u look like a total dork omg"_

" _happy bday btw i can't wait to give u bday punches across the face"_

" _srsly tho you look like a squishie why are u trying to flirt with ur followers"_

" _im cr yig n tho i can't wait to see you at the station, have fun saying bye to ur mom, i kno how much of a crybaby u can be"_

With an irritated huff, Archie shut off his phone and plugged it into the wall, planning for it to be fully charged by the time it's for them to start the trip. He shivered lightly, the trip… The trip that was planned from the moment he hatched, and today was the day it was going to happen. The fourteen years he lived in went by so fast.

A sad smile on his face, Archie swiftly took off his oversized shirt, dropping it nearby the laundry basket in his room. Eh, his mom will pick it up later. He searched the drawers in a nearby dresser, donning a white headband, a shirt that had a rather ugly shade of yellow with the caption "It's on!", and a pair of milky white shoes. He then tied his tentacles into a camouflaged hairband, loose and comfortable.

After he was properly dressed for the day, Archie looked towards the door of his room and saw a box labeled "things you wish to take with you", no doubt put there by his mother. Gazing around his room, he spotted a couple of things he wished to take with him on his trip; his extremely good quality headphones, his average laptop, and a couple of picture frames to remind him of nice memories.

Picking up the box with an arm, he opened the door to his room and stepped out into the hallway. He looked back into his bedroom, a sad look slowly forming on his face. He was going to miss this place, he's had so many good memories and now he's just going off to somewhere new and unfamiliar. He's off to start a new life. Lip trembling a tad bit, Archie slowly shut the door to his room, not going back in there for a long while.

He sniffled as he made his way down the hall, box still in his hands. Reaching the end of the hallway, he came across a flight of stairs going downward. Knowing this was going to be a challenge, as he was in his new body, Archie chose the safer route and went down the steps one by one, reaching the bottom in a couple of minutes. As soon as he got to the last step, the sweet aroma of the pancakes strengthened tenfold, making the young inkling's mouth water instantly. He placed the box down by the stairs, before darting into the kitchen, all sad thoughts leaving his mind as hunger took over.

When he reached the kitchen, he saw his mother near the stove, smoothly moving the last pancake she was cooking onto a stack of warm, fluffy pancakes. Her pink tentacles were pulled behind her, twisted between each other in a neat braid, eventually ending towards her ankles, having a band that loosely held them together. A third tentacle was sprouted towards the front of her head as well, much like Archie's. Unlike Archie, however, she had much darker skin than he, save for the occasional blotches of a much lighter tone. She was a gorgeous woman, as well as an excellent cook.

"Mom! Check me out!" Archie chirped, striking a quick pose to show off his new appearance to his mother. She looked over for a split second, before her eyes lit up at the sight before her.

She nearly dropped the plate she held in her hand before setting it on the counter, quickly darting over to her son and enveloping him in a loving embrace, "Oh my gosh, sweetie! You look so adorable and handsome!" she cheered, delivering many warm kisses to Archie's face. She gave him another squeeze before releasing him and gently grabbing his cheeks, "You look just like your other mother, my adorable baby boy. Happy Birthday, Archibald."

Archie flushed, his cheeks growing red quickly, "Moooom!" he whined, looking at the floor with slight embarrassment. His mother laughed, planting one more kiss on his forehead and moving back over to the pancakes.

"How many pancakes do you want for today, sweetie? I've made plenty to fill that growing belly of yours." she asked, pulling out another plate for Archie.

A proud smirk showed up on his face, "I'll take all of them." he arrogantly stated, seating himself at the table next to his light blue baby brother. His sibling was only a year old, having already developed four limbs he could thrash around while waiting for his breakfast. He was yelling too, but neither Archie nor his mother were really worried about him.

His mother snorted, "I'll give you six pancakes since it's your birthday, and anything you don't eat i'll put in a little container and let you have them once you make it to Flounder Heights," she set his plate down with six pancakes on them, the delicious breakfast covered with the sweetest of syrups and the slipperiest butter.

Licking his lips, Archie quickly grabbed his fork and dug in, shoving a poor pancake that drowned in syrup down his throat. He coughed momentarily, realizing what a bad idea that was and grabbing a cup of milk, downing it hastily in an attempt to wash down the remaining bits of pancake that got stuck. He sighed as soon as the cup was drained, all problems fixed.

His mother tsk'd, in the middle of feeding a small portion of a pancake to her second son with a fork, "You shouldn't scarf down food like that, who knows what'll happen to you if you don't have a drink nearby the next time that happens to you," she then sighed, jabbing the fork into the pancake and ripping off a piece, "Then again, you are heading off into your new life, I won't be able to control your decisions all those moments until now, you're the one making the choices from now on."

Archie shoved another pancake down his throat, this time it went down without a problem, "That's right mom, you don't gotta baby me anymore, I'm a fully grown adult that can make their own decisions!"

His mother rolled her eyes, wiping her second son's mouth, "You may be moving out of this house, but you're sure as heck not an adult yet young sir. I expect you to be on your best behavior while you're out there, lest you end up like some of those other kids."

"Yeah yeah I know," Archie dismissed, standing up and walking over to the sink, putting his now empty plate in. He didn't even leave a pancake to spare, having shoved them all into his esophagus before he even felt full.

Standing up, Archie's mother reached over and picked up her baby son with her hands, swinging him over to one side and letting him sit on her hip, "Grab your bags and meet me by the door! The train is going to take off in twenty!"

…

Soon the three family members were standing right outside the door to their house, about to say their goodbyes. Archie's mother looked down at him with proud, watery eyes, while the little blob of a son she held in her arms babbled on obliviously. Archie looked up at his mom, down at the handles of the luggage in his hands, and back up at her, unsure what to do or say.

His mom took in a deep breath, "You were a strong, independent squid as I raised you, and I hope you'll stay that strong, independent squid as you move out on your own. I want you to be a good kid, okay? I want you to know that I'll always love you, and that your other mother-," her breath shook, "-your other mother would be proud."

Archie trembled, the pressure of this situation suddenly weighing down on him tremendously. He squeezed his eyes shut, tears escaping and fleeing down his rosy red cheeks. He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself down, but it barely managed to rid himself of the pit in his stomach or the pressure of him having to move out of his house and into a world he was slightly scared of.

He nodded his head slowly, then started shaking it. He shook it faster, "I can't- I don't want- I'm not- I _can't_ -"

Tears slipped down his face faster, he just couldn't handle the pressure put on his shoulders. He sniffled, looking down at the ground with tear flooded eyes. His hands were shaking, his ears were twitching, he couldn't do this _he couldn't do this_.

A sob teared its way out of his throat, and before he knew it Archie was bawling his poor eyes out. He shook his head yet again, releasing his grip on his luggage and walking towards his mother to embrace her as tight as he could, not wanting to let go of someone so dear to him. His shoulders were shaking with every sob, his body trembling from the pent up stress finally being released.

His mom looked down at him with saddened eyes, truly distressed with how upset her first child was. Even Archie's little brother had quieted down, looking down at his older sibling with wide navy blue eyes while still in his mother's arms. A tear snuck its way down his mother's cheek, before she wiped it away with a hand.

It wasn't long before Archie managed to get himself back together, after his mom gave him a couple of soothing pats on the back. Reduced to sniffles and whimpers, Archie backed away from his mother and grabbed his discarded luggage, not before receiving a fond kiss on the forehead and a warm half hug from his mom though.

"I love you, sweetie, stay strong!" His mother cheered as he turned to walk from the house, "I'll miss you!"

His little brother blabbled something in his baby language, reaching out two of his blue limbs over to his big sibling and quickly moving them in a rather rough way of waving.

Archie waved goodbye to his mother then laughed at the sight of his baby brother, "Yeah yeah, I'll miss you too little bro."

"Make sure you call me when you get there! Remember, the apartment I reserved you under has rent coverage for two months, then you're on your own! Don't be afraid to come back if you need to, okay?" His mother informed Archie as he walked off the yard, off on his way to the train station.

He looked back at her one last time, "I gotcha, Ma!"

...

Arriving at the train station, Archie momentarily looked around at the sight. There was a bulletin board with the train's stop and arrival times, as well as a list of the different cities that the train could go to. He saw a couple other inklings his age there too, some wearing the exact same gear as him, presumably because it was their birthdays as well.

"Hey! Loser!" A loud voice called out. Turning around, Archie spotted his friend walking up to him wearing the same gear he was. They had noticeably dark skin and freckles scattered all over their face. Their tentacles were a light shade of purple that gradually faded into a nice magenta, and were tied into a neat bow on the back of their head. Who is this you ask? SparkleButt, otherwise known as Candy.

Archie playfully rolled his eyes, "Fuck off, dude. I saw what you said on my post, so rude of you."

Candy laughed, their giggles easily could be compared to bells, "I was just being honest! You looked like such a squishie, with your big 'innocent' eyes and baby face. I just _had_ to say it, I even got fifty likes on each of those comments!" They adjusted the purple duffle bag on their shoulder, that of which Archie hadn't noticed until now, "Anyway, did you cry your eyes out like I said you would? I totally bet you did, your attachment to your mom is so big, dude."

Archie blushed but didn't say anything, causing Candy to have a large grin spread across their face, "I knew it. You okay though? Your eyes are still a little puffy, you must've gone all out, eh?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I'll be fine, my mom said to be strong so I know I gotta be. I've got it all outta my system, I'm ready to take this world on!"

Candy deadpanned, "Matchin' the spirit of your dumb shirt, aren'tcha? Then again I have to wear it too, even though it looks ridiculous on me. This headband just doesn't look fresh, the shirt is a _very_ gross shade of yellow and its caption is stupid, and frankly? I've seen better shoes than this garbage. The default clothes they give the newbies for battling is stupid and I am very salty about it."

Before Archie had a chance to reply, the train came up to the station, letting out it's usual Squid Sisters jingle to tell people it's ready for loading. Different creatures loaded the train, handing in their tickets before going on board. Archie and Candy looked at each other, before handing in their tickets as well and hopping onto the train and into two seats next to each other.

Archie looked at his home town one last time, before closing his eyes.

 _Look out, Inkopolis, I'm coming for you._


	2. Flounder Heights!

Archie exhaled softly as he looked out the window, gazing at the blurry images of the trees passing by the train. For such an exciting day, the train ride was rather mundane.

"So what are your plans for Inkopolis?" Candy asked next to him, their pink eyes trained on a brightly colored fashion magazine. Their legs were crossed and swinging to the beat of the music playing in their rose earbuds.

He tapped a finger to his chin in deep thought, "I wanna try a couple splatfests and attend those famous parties we've heard about. I also wanna know what's on the other floors of inkopolis tower, maybe a restaurant or something. I'm also gonna decorate my apartment when I get to Flounder Heights! This time, hopefully with more band members besides the Squid sisters."

Candy took the rose earbuds out of their ears and scoffed, "That sounds like something a loser would do."

Archie scrunched up his face and furrowed his brow, "What the hell else am I supposed to do there? That's all I wanna do," He crossed his arms grumpily and sunk down lower in his seat.

"Well, when I get to inkopolis, the first thing I wanna do is find a way to get out of Inkopolis. I wanna travel at some point, but Inkopolis is going to be my first stop for who knows how long. Losers like you would stay in Inkopolis and do turf wars for the rest of your life. Me? I'm off to somewhere else being more productive," Candy shrugged, licking their finger and turning a page in their magazine.

Archie rolled his eyes, "Whatever, travel all you want, I'm staying in Inkopolis and you can go to that one city, Calamari or something."

"It's a county, numbnuts, how could you not know that the homeplace of the Squid Sisters is a county instead of a city?"

"I don't pay attention to all the facts, just the fact that they're famous and sound _really_ good."

"You're an idiot." Candy finished the conversation, putting their earbuds back into their pointed ears and tuning out the world around them. Archie huffed, looking out the window once again at the shapes passing by. Before long, he fell under in his seat, lulled to sleep by the low chatter in the train cart.

...

"Now arriving in Inkopolis city. Newcomers, hope you enjoy your time here and strive to be the freshest you can be!"

The train slowed to a stop at the next station, all the people inside standing up and cheering at their arrival. Candy turned to Archie, deadpanning at the sight of him slouched in his seat and drooling all over himself. Walking in front of him, they kicked his legs to wake him up.

"Get up, loser, it's time to get off." They stated quietly, kicking Archie's legs multiple times in order to stir him awake.

Unfortunately for Archie, he'd jolted awake at the first kick, now just facing the wrath of multiple kicks to his legs by his best friend, "Ow! Dude! Stop that, I'm up! OW!"

"Finally! You're awake! Man, you made me have to kick you ten times until you were properly awake!" Candy snickered, picking up their duffle bag and striding out of the train's exit.

Archie muttered angrily to himself, picking up his luggage and hurriedly darting out of the train's exit himself before the doors closed.

Candy breathed in the fresh air, "Ah, for being a large city, Inkopolis has some nice air."

Archie looked around the place, "Forget the air, look at this place!" He gestured wildly at the sight before them both. Inkopolis tower stood proud and high, the Great Zapfish resting on it and its whiskers glowing with bright electric currents. Much fresher inklings were scattered around the place, chatting with one another about random things. Some of them even carried weapons, most of which the pink teenager barely recognized.

He almost went in to explore and greet the other inklings, but Candy grabbed the neck of his shirt and held him back before he could move an inch further, "Dude, we're noobs. Those inklings over there would either ignore us, spit on us, or laugh in our faces. Let's go get our apartments first, then we'll go to a weapon shop and then grab those dreaded noob guns so we can level up and get out of these stupid outfits."

Archie grumbled under his breath, reluctantly grabbing his luggage and heading off in the direction of Flounder Heights. He hated being wrong, and he hated it even more when he was corrected. Especially if the person correcting him was Candy, a huge annoyance but undoubtedly his most beloved best friend.

"Flounder Heights is the other direction, just an FYI." Candy snickered, taking out another one of their fashion magazines and heading off in the real direction of Flounder Heights. Archie paused and turned around, a deep scowl on his face as he walked beside Candy.

About five minutes into the walk, Archie spoke up with an exasperated look on his face, "How far away is Flounder Heights anyway?"

Candy shrugged and turned a page in their magazine, "I don't know, I was told it was about 10 miles away from Inkopolis, not too far of a drive. Unfortunately we're not of driving age, and we don't have money to catch a cab, so we're walking."

Archie shook his head wildly, stopping in his tracks, "No. We're not doing this. Hell no. I'm not going to spend who knows how long walking all the way to Flounder Heights. I don't have the feet for it, and I gotta ink and am _NOT_ going outside."

The purple squid rolled their eyes, "What're we going to do then? Either come up with a plan or prepare to run down your feet to your ankles and pee outside, Whiny Pants."

Archie's ears suddenly twitched, "Wait wait I got an idea, remember when we were eleven and had learned super jumping in P.E. class?"

Candy looked at him as though he had just said inklings were made of peanut butter, "You are not thinking of what I think you're thinking. Because if you are, you truly are the biggest idiot I've ever known."

Archie whined, stomping his foot on the ground like a toddler having a tantrum, "C'moooon! Work with me here, I think we can do it. I know for a fact that our luggage is made out of condensed ink, so we should be able to bring it with us easily in our squid forms."

Candy raised a brow and put their hands on their hips in a questioning manner, "Don't you gotta know the exact location of your destination before you can super jump? We don't even know how far 10 miles exactly is! What if we overshoot or end up at the wrong place?"

Archie shrugged his shoulders before quickly shifting to a pink squid and preparing to shoot off into the sky with a great force, "Only one way to find out!"

Hitting their face with the palm of their hand, Candy sighed. Then they shrugged, this honestly would beat walking to their apartments for an hour or two, so why the hell not? Without hesitating, they shifted into a purple squid and built up a force inside of them to super jump as well.

After a moment, they both released the pressure at the same time, soaring into the sky at great speeds. Archie cheered, enjoying the wind blowing in his face and causing his tentacles to flop around like mad. Candy wasn't having as much of a good time, scared that they were going to miss the apartment buildings and end up in a dangerous area.

Soon it came time to land, and both squids prepared for it. Candy slammed on the ground as gracefully as they could, swiftly swinging their duffle bag over their shoulder and looking around the new area. Archie could've had an easier time landing, as he had landed face first and started flopping along the dirt until he came to a stop on his back, groaning in pain. His luggage soon landed on top of his stomach, making him cry out and Candy snicker.

Candy helped up Archie with a hand, before the latter of the two brushed off the dirt on his clothes with a disgruntled expression. Candy looked in a certain direction and pointed, spotting the Flounder Heights buildings just a distance away, "There it is! Flounder Heights! Wow, your dumb idea came in handy after all, props to you dude."

Archie hummed quietly, picking up his luggage and speed-walking in the direction of the buildings, "Yeah yeah whatever, let's just hurry up and go before I get pink stains on my white shoes."

Laughing loudly at the blunt statement, Candy picked up the pace and started heading towards the apartment buildings as well, not wanting to stay outside anyway. They looked up towards the horizon, seeing the sun starting to set and creating beautiful hues of orange and purple across the sky. The sight made them smile, as it was a nice reminder that nature could be beautiful at times. And gross as well. Nature was every adjective.

Reaching the apartment buildings, the two young inklings looked around for the main office, hoping to get their rooms registered as soon as possible. Spotting it, they both hurried inside, wanting to get their room keys and finally be able to sleep after such a long day.

They both spotted a young pufferfish humanoid at the counter, most likely looking at paperwork and anything that was urgent. They sprinted up to her, causing her to jump in her seat and nearly puff up before looking down at the two in surprise and excitement.

"Oh, hello! Are you two new? Well, you must be, since you're wearing the typical noob clothing! What can I do for you two little squirts?" She chirped excitedly, a sparkle in her eyes as she looked down at the two teens.

Archie shifted his feet and started talking rapidly, "Yeah I have an apartment that was registered by my mom a couple weeks ago, under the name Archibald Coral. I'm that inkling just to let you know! Can I get my key now, please? I'd love to have it right now it's very urgent and I gotta have it so I can finally have the _sweet release of dea_ -"

Candy cut in before he could finish his statement, "What he's trying to say is that we've gotten here late in the day and are both exhausted. We'd love to have our apartment keys that are registered under the names Archibald Coral, which is this doofus-" they pointed at an ansty Archie, "-and Candace Reef, which is me. And we'd love to have them quick, or otherwise _this dumb nut that forgot to go earlier_ is going to mess up his shorts."

The pufferfish lady made a face, before immediately going to search her computer for the two names, "Alrighty, the data here says you two were registered three weeks ago under those names, and the first two months of rent were covered by your parents, is that right?"

Archie and Candy both nodded, although at extremely different speeds.

"Okay then! Let me get your keys, and you two can head straight over to your apartments. Archibald, you were registered under building C apartment 13. Candace, building D apartment 2. I hope you both enjoy your stay and have fun battling in Inkopolis!" she cheered, happily handing the two their respective keys.

After the two grabbed their keys, they both walked out of the office and said their goodbyes to each other for the night, heading to their buildings to get some shuteye.

Archie managed to find his apartment soon after he left the office, and went in without hesitation. He shut the door behind him and locked it, before dumping his luggage on the ground. He was almost tempted to look around the apartment and explore, but an urgent reminder told him to do otherwise.

He'd almost darted into every room in the apartment before he finally found a bathroom, finally able to do his business. After he was done, he gave a sigh of relief, looking in the mirror as he washed his hands. He gave a large grin, his three fangs shining brightly in the bathroom's light.

"Tomorrow I'll begin my quest to become a level 50! I'll be one of the freshest there ever was!" He cheered to himself, walking out of the bathroom with a pep in his step. He walked to his luggage, pulling out his isquid from one of the pockets in the bag. Turning it on, he slipped off his shoes and walked to the bedroom in his apartment, hopping onto the mattress and sighing in relief at how soft it was.

He brought the phone to his face, scrolling through his contacts before finding his mom. Feeling too exhausted to call her, he settled for a simple text instead.

" _hey mom i made it to the apartment buildings. i love you and miss you_ "

It wasn't long before she texted back, sending a text that made Archie smile with tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

" _I love you and miss you too sweetie! Take care of yourself, I know you're strong! You're growing up, I believe in you! Goodnight, sweetheart, have a good sleep and enjoy your first day tomorrow!_ "

Texting back one quick goodnight back to her, Archie turned off his phone and pulled the covers over his body, feeling too tired to properly shower and change out of his noob clothing. He yawned, snuggling his face into a pillow and falling asleep for the rest of the night.

 **AN: Candy is genderfluid with They/Them pronouns. Updates are not regular. Hope you enjoyed!**


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